.  .  .  THE  :  .  . 


DEBT  OF  CIVILIZATION 


TO 


American  Baptist  Missions 


BY 


REV.  EDMUND  F.  MERRIAM 

Editorial  Secretary  of  the  American  Baptist 
Missionary  Union 


FROM  THE  WATCHMAN  . 


BOSTON 

AMERICAN  baptist  MISSIONARY  UNION 

1896 


Civilization  and  Baptist  Missions 

By  Rev.  Edmund  F.  Merriam 


The  indebtedness  of  science  and  civilization  to  Baptist 
missions  is  large  and  important,  but  has  hitherto  been 
made  known  only  as  the  work  of  the  different  fields  has 
been  presented.  By  the  policy  of  the  Missionary  Union 
the  chief  emphasis  in  the  missionary  work  has  always  been 
placed  supremely  upon  the  oral  preaching  of  the  (jospel, 
and  the  incidental  advantages  which  have  accrued  to  the 
peoples  of  the  various  lands  in  which  the  missions  have 
been  maintained,  and  to  the  world  at  large,  have  scarcely 
been  realized  even  by  those  well  acquainted  with  the 
progress  of  missions.  Evangelization,  and  not  civiliza¬ 
tion,  has  been  the  aim.  But,  while  the  Gospel  has  been 
preached  and  many  hundred  thousands  of  souls  have  been 
brought  into  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  both  these  and  many 
others  have  received  large  and  manifold  blessings,  the 
incidental  accompaniments  of  all  work  for  the  advance¬ 
ment  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  That  which  raises  and 
helps  any  people  is  a  blessing  to  the  whole  human  race. 
The  reflex  benefits  of  Baptist  missionary  work  may  be 
mentioned  under  seven  different  heads :  First,  geography ; 
second,  science ;  third,  languages  ;  fourth,  literature ;  fifth, 
education ;  sixth,  social  improvement ;  and  seventh,  com¬ 
merce. 

Geography 

The  aid  which  exploration  and  the  science  of  geography 
has  received  from  Baptist  missions  has  never  been  properly 
recognized.  Adoniram  Judson,  the  pioneer  Baptist  mis¬ 
sionary  of  America,  was  also  the  first  Protestant  mission¬ 
ary  to  live  under  an  absolutely  heathen  government.  Be¬ 
fore  him,  the  idea  of  Christian  missions  had  been  to  labor 
among  heathen  populations  in  colonies  of  Christian  gov¬ 
ernments.  So  Ziegenbalg  and  Schwartz  went  to  the 
Danish' possessions  in  India  ;  Carey,  Marshman  and  Ward 


4 


to  the  domains  of  the  East  India  Company,  and  the  Dan¬ 
ish  Colony  in  Serampore;  but  Adoniram  Judson  and  his 
wife,  Ann  Hasseltine,  driven  from  the  possessions  of  the 
East  India  Company,  and  by  the  hand  of  Providence  led 
to  Burma,  heroically  established  themselves  in  residence 
and  missionary  work  under  the  heathen  government  of 
that  country,  one  of  the  worst  which  has  ever  cursed  any 
part  of  Asia.  In  this  they  set  an  example  which  has  been 
an  inspiration  to  pioneer  missionaries  in  heathen  lands  in 
all  subsequent  times.  Judson  was  not  only  the  pioneer 
Baptist  missionary  of  America,  but  was  the  pioneer  of  all 
missionaries  to  purely  heathen  lands,  and  in  his  footsteps 
have  followed,  and  under  his  inspirations  have  acted  many 
others,  including  such  illustrious  names  as  John  Williams, 
the  martyr  of  Erromanga,  David  Livingstone,  the  heroic 
missionary  and  explorer  of  Africa,  and  William  Morrison, 
of  China. 

Judson’s  great  services  in  opening  Burma  have  been 
followed  by  others  of  the  Baptist  missionaries.  Almost 
every  missionary  of  the  early  days  was  to  a  certain  extent 
an  explorer,  and  the  geography  of  the  wild  portions  of 
Burma  often  became  known  to  the  English  officials  through 
the  reports  and  labors  of  the  Baptist  missionaries.  Special 
reference  should  be  made  to  the  early  travels  of  Eugenio 
Kincaid  in  Upper  Burma.  He  penetrated  to  Mogaung, 
nearly  to  the  mountains  bordering  on  Assam  when  he  was 
driven  back  by  the  natives,  and  nearly  lost  his  life  in  his 
heroic  pioneering  exploration.  The  travels  of  Rev.  Josiah 
N.  Cushing,  D.  D.,  in  opening  up  Shanland,  are  well  known 
to  the  scientific  world,  and  have  received  high  appreciation 
from  the  British  Government  and  officials,  who  have 
availed  themselves  of  his  reports  in  planning  their  expedi¬ 
tions  through  that  country,  and  of  his  services  as  inter¬ 
preter  to  their  exploring  parties. 

In  the  most  of  the  countries  in  which  American  Baptist 
missions  have  been  planted,  explorers  have  preceded  the 
missionaries,  except  in  some  portions  of  the  Garo  and 
Naga  Hills  in  Assam,  where  services  as  explorers  have 
been  rendered  by  Rev.  E.  W.  Clark,  Rev.  M.  C.  Mason  and 
Rev.  E.  G.  Phillips.  It  is  only  until  we  come  to  Africa  that 
we  find  further  large  and  eminent  services  to  the  science  of 


5 


geography  performed  by  our  Baptist  missionaries.  After 
Henry  M.  Stanley  came  down  the  Congo  in  his  famous 
journey  “Through  the  Dark  Continent,”  he  began  the  con¬ 
struction  of  a  road  along  the  north  bank  of  the  river,  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  large  possibilities  of  commerce 
with  the  Upper  Congo.  There  the  first  stations  of  the 
Livingstone  Inland  Mission  were  also  established.  But 
the  members  of  that  mission  saw  more  clearly  than  did  Mr. 
Stanley  himself  that  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the  north 
bank  of  the  river  were  so  excessive  as  to  be  almost  prohib¬ 
itive  to,  an  easy  transport.  They  established  stations  on 
the  south  side,  first  at  Palabala,  then  at  Banza  Manteka, 
and  finally  Dr.  Sims  and  Messrs.  Banks  and  Petterson 
pushed  on  and  were  the  first  white  men  to  reach  Stanley 
Pool  by  the  south  side  of  the  Congo.  Their  discovery, 
which  opened  a  way  so  much  easier  than  along  the  north 
bank,  led  to  the  abandonment  of  Mr.  Stanley’s  road,  and 
for  years  since  then  all  commerce  has  passed  from  the 
lower  to  the  upper  river  over  substantially  the  way  dis¬ 
covered  by  the  missionaries,  and  running  through  the  line 
of  stations  planted  by  them.  The  railroad  now  being  con¬ 
structed  also  follows  the  general  contour  of  country 
adopted  for  their  travel. 

Physical  Science 

.  The  chief  contribution  made  by  Baptist  missionaries  to 
physical  science  is  undoubtedly  the  vast  and  exhaustive 
work  of  Rev.  Francis  Mason,  D.  D.,  entitled  “The  People 
and  Productions  of  Burma.”  The  preparation  of  this 
work  furnished  the  amusement  and  relaxation  of  his  busy 
missionary  life,  and  was  first  published  by  private  means, 
but  since  the  death  of  Dr.  Mason  it  has  been  revised  by  • 
an  eminent  specialist  and  published  by  the  British  Govern¬ 
ment  in  a  costly  official  edition.  It  still  remains  as  the 
standard  authority,  not  only  on  the  ethnology  but  on  the 
flora  and  fauna  of  Burma,  and  holds  a  high  rank  among 
similar  works  of  that  class. 

It  would  be  impossible  to  enumerate  the  large  services 
of  Baptist  missionaries  in  the  collection  of  scientific  speci¬ 
mens  for  museums  of  various  sorts  in  this  country.  Prob- 


6 


ably  few  Baptist  missionaries  to  any  land  have  ever  gone 
forth  without  returning  with  more  or  less  valuable 
examples  of  the  geology,  botany,  entomology,  etc.,  of  the 
lands  ro  which  they  have  gone.  The  physical  departments 
and  collections  of  every  Baptist  institution  in  this  country 
will  testify  to  the  diligence  of  the  missionaries  in  this 
respect.  Few  can  be  found  where  there  are  not  at  least 
some  contributions  made  by  our  Baptist  missionaries,  and 
many  institutions  outside  of  Baptist  ranks  have  been  glad 
to  acknowledge  their  indebtedness  to  our  missionaries  for 
valuable  contributions  to  their  scientific  collections.  If 
these  scattered  contributions  could  be  gathered  in  one,  the 
aggregate  would  be  found  to  be  a  large  and  valuable  col¬ 
lection  of  objects  of  scientific  value  illustrating  not  only 
the  geology  and  botany  of  various  countries,  but  all 
departments  of  scientific  research,  including  the  chiefest 
of  all  sciences,  ethnology  and  social  life. 

In  this  connection  special  mention  ought  to  be  made  of 
the  large  collections  of  scientific  objects  brought  from 
Central  Africa  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Camp,  who  was  for  several 
years  in  charge  of  the  mission  steamer,  the  Henry  Reed^  ' 
on  the  Upper  Congo  River.  Twice  the  Smithsonian  Insti¬ 
tution  at  Washington,  D.  C.,  sent  out  to  him'through  the 
American  Baptist  Missionary  Union,  full  collecting  outfits 
and  supplies,  and  on  his  last  return  to  this  country  he 
brought  with  him  more  than  one  hundred  cases  of  speci¬ 
mens  illustrating  the  geology,  mineralogy,  entomology, 
zoology,  etc.,  of  Central  Africa,  as  well  as  specimens  of 
the  valuable  and  precious  woods  of  those  vast  interior  for¬ 
ests  which  must  be  the  supply  for  the  civilized  world  in 
years  to  come.  The  whole  expense  of  the  transport  of 
this  collection  was  paid  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

Philology 

By  the  circumstances  in  which  they  have  been  placed, 
the  services  of  Baptist  missionaries  to  linguistic  science 
have  been  of  peculiar,  value  and  importance.  Placed 
among  many  peoples  whose  languages  had  never  been 
reduced  to  writing,  they  have  performed  this  service  in  the 
interests  of  the  missionary  work,  and  at  the  same  time 


7 


added  an  immense  store  of  information  to  comparative 
,  linguistic  study.  The  brilliant  achievements  of  Baptist 
missionaries  in  this  work  have  been  widely  acknowledged. 
In  Burma  alone  the  number  of  languages  reduced  to  writ¬ 
ing  embraces  the  Sgaw  Karen  and  Pwo  Karen,  as  well  as 
many  minor  variations  of  these  two  leading  dialects,  such 
as  the  Bghai,  Baku,  etc.  The  Chin  language  has  also 
been  reduced  to  written  form,  and,  last  of  all,  by  the  labors 
of  Dr.  Cushing,  Rev.  W.  H.  Roberts,  and  especially  Rev. 
Ola  Hanson,  who  was  sent  out  for  that  particular  work, 
the  Kachin  language,  spoken  by  several  millions  of  people, 
has  been  put  into  written  form,  and  a  full  system  of  roman- 
izing  perfected,  which  has  been  accepted  by  the  Govern¬ 
ment  of  British  India.  These  linguistic  services  to  Burma 
alone  have  been  sufficient  to  have  earned  the  gratitude  of 
all  scientists,  but  in  addition  we  find  that  in  Assam  the 
same  service  has  been  rendered,  and  the  dialect  of  the 
large,  active  Garo  tribe  has  been  reduced  to  written  form, 
and  also  two  dialects  of  the  numerous  and  powerful  Naga 
tribes — the  Angami  and  the  Ao — and  a  beginning  has 
been  made  in  several  minor  dialects,  as  the  Mikir,  etc. 

In  no  other  of  the  American  Baptist  mission  fields  has 
this  service  been  necessary  except  in  the  Congo  Mission 
in  Africa.  The  various  dialects  of  the  Congo  people  are 
branches  of  the  great  Bantu  group  of  languages,  but  the 
variations  in  different  localities  are  such  that  each  dialect 
can  be  understood  only  over  a  limited  area,  and  all  print¬ 
ing,  to  be  comprehended,  must  be  of  different  form  for  the 
varied  dialects.  The  Kikongo  has  been  reduced  to  writ- 
ing  by  various  persons,  and  Dr.  Sims,  of  Leopoldville, — who 
has  received  the  cross  of  the  Legion  of  Honor  from  the 
French  Government,  and  has  also  been  decorated  by  the 
Government  of  Belgium  for  his  eminent  medical  services, — 
has  made  a  dictionary  of  the  Kiteke,  and  also  a  vocabulary 
of  the  Kivansi.  Much  work  in  other  dialects  has  been 
done  by  other  missionaries.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  before 
long  some  Imgiia  Jranca^  or  common  language,  will  be  dis¬ 
covered  by  which  printing  at  least  may  be  done  in  one 
form  for  all  the  varied  but  yet  closely  associated  dialects 
of  the  Congo  Valley. 


8 


Literature 

In  enumerating  the  services  of  Baptist  missionaries  to 
literature,  the  first  place  must  be  given  to  Judson’s  trans¬ 
lation  of  the  Bible  into  the  Burman  language.  That  lan¬ 
guage  was  already  in  a  written  form  when  Judson  went  to 
Burma,  but  no  real  attempt  had  been  made  to  connect  it 
with  the  English,  and  no  literature  of  Western  nations 
existed  in  the  Burman  tongue.  Judson,  making  his  own 
vocabulary  as  he  went  along,  made  a  translation  of  the 
Bible  into  Burman,  which  has  done  for  that  language  what 
Luther’s  Bible  did  for  the  German,  and  the  translation  of 
i6ii  did  for  the  English  tongue.  The  translation  was  so 
wonderfully  accurate  that  but  little  revision  has  ever  been 
necessary,  and  the  work  of  translation  need  never  be 
repeated.  Dr.  Judson  also  made  an  English-Burman 
Dictionary,  which  has  been,  and  still  is,  the  standard  and 
only  work  of  that  character.  A  large  amount  of  literature, 
religious  and  secular,  has  been  prepared  by  the  Baptist 
missionaries  in  Burma,  especially  in  the  way  of  tracts  and 
school  books.  All  literature  in  the  various  Karen  tongues 
owes  its  existence  entirely  to  the  Baptist  missionaries. 
The  whole  Bible  has  been  translated  into  the  Sgaw  Karen 
dialect  by  Rev.  Francis  Mason,  D.  D.  ;  into  the  Pwo 
Karen  by  Rev.  D.  L.  Brayton ;  into  Shan  by  Rev.  J.  N. 
Cushing,  D.  D.,  who  has  also  prepared  a  dictionary  of  that 
language  for  English  readers.  School-books  of  all  glades, 
from  primary  to  scientific,  philosophical  and  theological, 
have  been  prepared  in  great  numbers  by  the  missionaries, 
as  well  as  a  vast  quantity  of  religious  literature  which  has 
been  circulated  largely  and  freely  among  the  people. 

Passing  to  Assam,  Dr.  Nathan  Brown,  one  of  the  early 
Baptist  missionaries  in  that  country,  enjoyed  the  high 
privilege  of  first  giving  the  New  Testament  to  the  Assam¬ 
ese.  Other  books  of  the  Bible  were  translated  by  several 
missionaries,  but  the  work  of  completing  the  translation  of 
the  Old  Testament,  and  giving  to  the  Assamese  the  full 
Bible,  has  been  in  charge  of  Rev.  A.  K.  Gurney  for  a 
number  of  years.  The  translation  is  now  completed  and 
a  revision  is  in  progress,  and  the  full  Bible  in  Assamese 
will  soon  be  offered  to  the  people.  Aside  from  this  may 


9 


be  mentioned  the  Assamese-English  Dictionary,  prepared 
by  Dr.  Miles  Bronson;  and  much  work  of  revision  and 
translation  of  Scriptures,  tracts  and  other  religious  liter¬ 
ature  has  been  done  by  Rev.  P.  H.  Moore,  of  Nowgong. 
In  Garo  many  portions  of  Scripture  have  been  prepared 
by  Rev.  M.  C.  Mason  and  Rev.  E.  G.  Phillips  in  the  dia¬ 
lect  of  that  enterprising  people,  as  well  as  school-books 
and  other  translations,  especially  those  made  necessary  by 
the  progress  of  their  missionary  work. 

Passing  to  India  we  find  the  whole  New  Testament 
translated  and  revised  by  Dr.  Lyman  Jewett,  in  a  form 
which  is  still  in  use  in  the  Baptist  missions  among  the 
Telugus.  Their  beautiful  language,  the  Italian  of  India, 
has  also  been  enriched  with  other  portions  of  Scripture, 
school  books,  theological  works,  and  a  large  number  of 
religious  tracts  and  smaller  publications.  In  Burma,  Assam 
and  among  the  Telugus  religious  periodicals  in  the  vernac¬ 
ular  are  prepared  and  issued  regularly  by  the  missionaries, 
especially  for  the  benefit  of  the  Christian  converts. 

While  the  Chinese  and  Japanese  were  written  languages 
before  the  Baptist  missionaries  reached  those  countries, 
yet  a  vast  amount  of  work  has  been  done  by  them  in  the 
translation  of  Scriptures  and  the  preparation  of  religious 
and  secular  literature.  Rev.  J.  R.  Goddard,  senior,  trans¬ 
lated  the  whole  New  Testament  into  the  colloquial  dialect 
of  Ningpo  in  a  version  which  is  still  widely  in  use  in  that 
section  of  China.  At  Swatow,  much  work  has  been  done  by 
Dr.  William  Ashmore,  Dr.  S.  B.  Partridge,  William  Ashmore, 
Jr.,  and  others,  in  the  translation  of  Scriptures  and  prepara¬ 
tion  of  religious  literature  in  the  colloquial  dialect  of  that 
locality.  Dr.  Nathan  Brown,  who  first  gave  the  New  Tes¬ 
tament  to  the  Assamese,  later  in  life  became  a  missionary 
to  Japan,  and  enjoyed  the  unique  distinction  of  having 
given  the  New  Testament  also  to  the  Japanese  in  a  version 
which  is  by  many  considered  to  be  the  best  in  use  among 
the  Japanese  people.  He  led  the  way  also  in  using  the 
kana  or  pure  Japanese  native  character  in  printing,  the 
usual  method  of  printing  Japanese  having  been  to  so  inter¬ 
lard  the  Japanese  characters  with  Chinese  as  to  make  it 
difficult  for  the  common  people  to  learn  to  read.  Dr. 
Brown’s  example  has  had  a  large  influence  upon  Japanese 


lO 


printing,  and  the  use  of  Chinese  characters  has  been 
greatly  diminished  in  certain  kinds  of  printing  for  the 
Japanese  people. 

The  same  service  which  has  been  rendered  to  the 
Karens  of  Burma  and  the  hill  tribes  of  Assam  by  our 
Baptist  missionaries,  is  now  being  done  for  the  people  of 
the  Congo  by  their  Baptist  brethren  in  that  region.  Gos¬ 
pels  have  been  translated  into  the  Kikongo,  the  Kiteke 
and  other  dialects,  and  a  beginning  made  in  the  prepara¬ 
tion  of  school-books,  especially  those  of  a  primary  char¬ 
acter,  for  these  untaught  but  intelligent  people.  The  ser¬ 
vices  which  Baptist  missionaries  have  rendered  to  the 
various  peoples  among  whom  they  have  labored,  by  the 
introduction  of  an  elevated  and  elevating  literature,  both 
religious  and  secular,  are  inestimable,  and  cannot  be  prop¬ 
erly  judged  by  the  bare  statements  which  have  been 
given.  How  much  of  spiritual  and  intellectual  life  has 
come  and  will  come  from  the  services  thus  rendered  to 
these  peoples  can  only  be  rightly  known  by  their  future 
development. 

Education 

Next  to  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  and  the  translation 
of  the  Bible,  schools  must  be  considered  as  an  important 
element  of  missionary  work.  While  American  Baptist 
missionaries  have  never  placed  the  principal  emphasis  on 
schools  as  an  evangelizing  agency,  they  have  ever  been 
ready  and  zealous  in  establishing  and  conducting  schools 
for  the  broadening  and  deepening  of  the  religious  interest 
and  the  training  of  Christian  workers  who  should  be  pre¬ 
pared  to  labor  intelligently  and  usefully  among  their  own 
people.  In  Burma,  aside  from  the  Theological  Seminary 
at  Insein,  near  Rangoon,  which  has  now  been  enlarged  to 
include  work  for  all  races,  there  is  also  in  Rangoon  a 
Baptist  college  in  affiliation  with  the  University  of  Cal¬ 
cutta,  and  for  all  the  numerous  races  of  Burma.  The  Sgaw 
Karen  Normal  and  Industrial  Institute  at  Bassein,  and 
numerous  High  Schools  at  Rangoon,  Moulmein,  and  at 
other  of  the  larger  stations,  the  Baptist  Mission  Girls’ 
School  at  Kemendine  in  Rangoon,  and  the  Morton  Lane 
Seminary  at  Moulmein,  also  the  schools  for  boys  and  girls 


of  all  the  various  races  of  Burma  found  in  every  mission 
station,  as  at  Tavoy,  Toungoo,  Shwegyin,  Henzada,  Man¬ 
dalay,  etc.,  and  the  hundreds  of  primary  schools  in  the 
scattered  villages  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of 
Burma  are  rendering  a  service  to  the  civilizing  and  enlight¬ 
ening  of  the  polyglot  people  of  that  country  which  cannot 
be  suitably  estimated  or  described. 

The  same  sort  of  work  is  being  done  on  all  the  mission 
fields.  In  Assam  we  find  the  High  School  at  Tura  and 
the  Industrial  School,  which  has  algo  done  much  for  the 
Garo  people.  There  are  many  schools  in  all  the  Christian 
Garo  villages,  as  well  as  at  the  various  mission  stations, 
both  in  the  plains  and  on  the  hills. 

At  the  head  of  the  Baptist  educational  work  in  the 
Telugu  Mission  is  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Ramapatan, 
occupying  one  of  the  finest  educational  buildings  in 
southern  India,  erected  at  a  cost  of  ^15,000.  Then  comes 
the  Baptist  Mission  College  at  Ongole,  established  by  the 
energy  and  management  of  Dr.  John  E.  Clough,  which  has 
been  affiliated  with  the  Madras  University  as  a  second- 
grade  college,  the  Bucknell  Memorial  Industrial  School  at 
Nellore,  as  well  as  schools  at  all  the  mission  stations,  and 
primary  schools  scattered  throughout  the  Telugu  Mission. 
The  value  of  the  education  which  these  Baptist  mission 
schools  has  given  to  the  peoples  of  Burma,  Assam  and 
India  is  fully  recognized  by  the  Government  of  India, 
which  cordially  appropriates  money  for  school  buildings, 
as  well  as  for  the  conduct  of  the  school  work  every  year. 

In  the  missions  in  China  there  is  a  Biblical  School  at 
Shaohing,  for  the  training  of  native  preachers,  a  Biblical 
class  at  Swatow,  also,  for  the  same  purpose,  a  training 
school  for  Bible  women,  and  schools  for  Christian  girls 
and  boys,  both  at  Swatow,  Ningpo,  Kinhwa  and  other 
places,  which  are  doing  much  to  prepare  the  Christian 
converts  for  that  development  of  China  which  is  sure  to 
come  in  the  near  future.  As  China  becomes  more  open 
to  civilization  the  value  of  the  training  acquired  by  the 
Christian  converts  in  Baptist  and  other  mission  schools 
will  be  recognized  and  will  bring  them  to  the  front;  and 
instead  of  being  despised  and  persecuted,  as  they  now 
very  generally  are,  these  Christians  educated  by  the  mis- 


12 


sionaries  will  be  fitted  to  be  leaders  of  their  people  in  the 
onward  march  of  enlightenment  and  civilization. 

Baptist  educational  work  in  Japan  is  not  yet  extensive, 
but  most  excellent  work  is  being  done  by  the  Baptist 
Theological  Seminary  at  Yokohama,  in  the  preparation  of 
preachers  for  the  Baptist  missions.  A  Baptist  Academy 
has  recently  been  established  at  Tokyo,  a  boys’  school  in 
Osaka,  and  most  excellent  service  is  being  done  for  Japan¬ 
ese  girls  in  the  Sarah  Curtis  Home  at  Tokyo,  the  Mary  L. 
Colby  Home  at  Yokohama,  in  the  Henrich  Memorial 
Home  at  Chofu,  a  suburb  of  Shimonoseki  in  south¬ 
western  Japan,  and  at  the  Ella  O.  Patrick  Home  in  Sendai. 

The  educational  force  of  the  Baptist  mission  on  the 
Congo  is  represented  by  a  Biblical  Training  School  at 
Banza  Manteke,  for  the  preparation  of  native  preachers 
and  evangelists,  a  normal  school  at  Lukunga  for  the 
training  of  teachers  and  Christian  workers,  and  a  school  at 
Leopoldville  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Sims,  which  combines 
both  literary  and  industrial  features.  Eight  different  tribes 
have  been  represented  at  the  same  time  in  this  school,  the 
most  of  them  coming  from  the  Upper  river,  to  which  in 
due  time  they  will  be  fitted  to  return  and  become  leaders 
and  centres  of  light  among  their  own  people.  There  are 
also  smaller  schools  at  each  of  the  mission  stations. 

Sociology 


The  advantages  which  accrue  to  every  nation  through 
the  presence  of  missionaries  are  well  known  in  every  coun¬ 
try  and  community  into  which  our  Baptist  missionaries 
have  gone.  They  have  performed  a  service  for  the  social 
improvement  of  the  people  which  has  been  widely  and 
cordially  recognized  by  all  those  competent  to  form  a  judg 
ment  in  the  matter.  In  Burma,  the  wild  and  oppressed 
and  scattered  Karen  tribes  have  been  largely  brought  to 
become  obedient  and  loyal  citizens  through  the  efforts  of 
Baptist  missions  and  the  Karen  Christians  connected  with 
them.  After  the  deposition  of  King  Thibaw,  in  1885,  a 
period  of  anarchy  began  in  Upper  Burma.  The  disap¬ 
pointed  armies  of  the  Burman  king  formed  themselves  into 
independent  and  lawless  bands  of  dacoits,  who  roamed  the 


13 


country,  pillaging,  burning,  murdering  and  robbing  on 
every  hand.  The  usual  English  troops  were  found  utterly 
incompetent  to  deal  with  these  wandering  bands  of  dacoits, 
and  no  effective  head  was  made  against  them  until  the 
Karens  were  enrolled  as  a  special  police  and  military 
force.  These  Karen  bands,  from  their  knowledge  of  the 
country,  followed  the  dacoits  to  their  secret  haunts,  and  in 
the  course  of  a  few  years  the  anarchy  of  Burma  was  sub¬ 
dued  and  a  reasonable  measure  of  order  was  established. 
For  these  services  of  the  Karens  the  Government  rendered 
the  most  cordial  recognition,  and,  while  every  Burman  was 
forbidden  to  have  firearms  in  his  possession,  this  privilege 
was  granted  to  the  Karens  in  recognition  of  their  loyalty 
and  eminent  services.  In  all  this  the  Christian  Karens 
were  the  leaders,  and  the  advantages  which  have  accrued 
to  Government  were  recognized  as  proceeding  from  the 
influence  of  Baptist  missions  among  the  Karen  people. 
In  speaking  of  the  development  of  the  Karens  of  Burma, 
the  Administration  Report  for  1880-8 1  says: 

Foremost  in  this  work  have  been  American  missionaries  of 
the  Baptist  persuasion.  There  are  now  attached  to  this  com¬ 
munion  no  less  than  451  Christian  Karen  parishes,  most  of 
which  support  their  own  church,  their  own  Karen  pastor,  and 
their  own  parish  school,  and  many  of  which  subscribe  consider¬ 
able  sums  in  money  and  kind  for  the  furtherance  of  missionary 
work  among  Karens  and  other  hill-races  beyond  the  British 
border.  Christianity  continues  to  spread  among  the  Karens  to 
the  great  advantage  of  the  commonwealth,  and  the  Christian 
Karen  communities  are  distinctly  more  industrious,  better  edu¬ 
cated,  and  more  law-abiding  than  the  Burman  and  Karen  vil¬ 
lages  around  them.  The  Karen  race  and  the  British  Govern¬ 
ment  owe  a  great  debt  to  the  American  missionaries,  who  have, 
under  Providence,  wrought  this  change  among  the  Karens  of 
Burma. 

The  same  sort  of  service  has  been  rendered  by  Baptist 
missionaries  wherever  they  have  labored  among  other  wild 
tribes.  In  Assam,  the  Garos  have  been  reduced  to  order 
and  submission  to  British  authority  largely  through  the 
influence  of  the  Baptist  missionaries  and  the  Christian  con¬ 
verts.  Rev.  E.  W.  Clark  established  his  residence  among 
the  AngamiNagas  far  in  advance  of  Government  outposts, 
and  when  the  English  annexed  the  Naga  territory,  those 


14 


in  his  immediate  locality  submitted  without  opposition. 
Professor  Haraprasad  Sastri,  senior  professor  of  Sanscrit 
in  the  Presidency  College,  Calcutta,  says :  “Christian  mis¬ 
sionaries  of  various  denominations  have  done  much  good 
in  advancing  education,  in  reclaiming  hill  tribes,  and 
giving  shape  to  their  languages.” 

One  of  the  most  illustrious  examples  of  social  im¬ 
provement  by  missionary  effort  is  found  in  its  effect 
upon  the  degraded  outcaste  population  of  India.  Of  the 
55,000  converts  of  the  American  Telugu  Mission,  all  but  a 
very  few  belong  to  the  outcastes,  who  were  despised  and 
oppressed,  and  in  fact  in  practical  slavery  to  the  higher 
classes  and  castes.  The  great  multitude  of  these  con¬ 
verts  have  been  but  recently  won  to  Christianity,  and  con¬ 
sequently  missionary  and  Christian  education  has  not  had 
time  to  have  its  full  effect  upon  the  most  of  them.  Yet 
enough  has  been  done  to  show  what  will  be  the  final  influ¬ 
ence  of  this  elevating  force  upon  that  people.  Children 
of  Christian  Telugu  converts,  trained  in  the  mission 
schools,  beginning  with  the  primary,  passing  through  the 
intermediate  grades  into  the  high  schools,  and  then  into 
the  College  and  Theological  Seminary,  come  out  on  a  full 
intellectual  equality  with  the  proud  and  haughty  Brahmans 
and  members  of  the  upper  castes.  In  conversation  and  in 
religious  controversy  with  these  representatives  of  the 
despised  outcastes,  the  Brahman  often  finds  himself  at  a 
disadvantage  His  intellectual  acumen  and  training  are 
in  vain  against  the  broad  and  trained  intelligence  of  these 
Christians.  In  the  Civil  Service  examinations,  the  mem¬ 
ber  of  the  upper  caste  finds  himself  seated  side  by  side 
with  the  despised,  outcaste  trained  in  Christian  schools, 
and  very  frequently,  to  his  shame  and  indignation,  finds 
the  coveted  prize  awarded  to  one  whom  he  has  considered 
beneath  his  contempt.  The  haughty  Brahman  is  humbled, 
his  pride  is  brought  low,  and  even  in  his  shame  and  anger 
he  cannot  help  recognizing  the  power  of  the  Christian 
influence  and  the  training  which  has  raised  these  despised 
outcastes  to  a  rivalry  with  himself  in  intelligence  and 
power. 

Another  special  influence  of  the  Christian  training  and 
illustration  of  its  power  is  found  in  the  Congo  Mission. 


15 


The  curse  of  the  coast  region  of  Africa  is  the  rum  and  gin 
introduced  from  civilized  countries.  By  his  temperament 
the  untaught  African  is  incapable  of  resisting  the  taste  for 
alcoholic  liquors.  The  art  of  self-control  is  unknown  to 
him.  Once  he  tastes  alcohol  it  becomes  his  master,  and  it 
is  for  this  reason  that  the  introduction  of  rum  and  alcholic 
liquors  among  the  native  peoples  of  Africa  means  death 
and  destruction  to  the  people,  and  oftentimes  depopulation 
of  whole  districts.  Against  this  onrushing  tide  of  destruc¬ 
tion  the  only  opposing  influence  which  can  be  found  to 
stand  is  the  Christian  convert.  He  has  learned  the  art  of 
self-control.  He  has  been  taught  the  benefits  of  self-mas¬ 
tery  ;  he  has  learned  to  subordinate  selfish  desires  and 
passions  to  higher  thoughts  and  to  nobler  good,  and  it  is 
safe  to  say  that  where  rum  is  introduced  on  the  coast  of 
Africa  the  only  temperate  people  to  be  found  are  the 
Christians.  If  Africa  is  to  be  saved  from  the  destruction  of 
drunkenness,  that  twin  curse  to  African  slavery,  the  salva¬ 
tion  must  come  through  the  converts  of  the  Christian  mis¬ 
sions.  In  this  respect  our  Baptist  missionaries  are  render¬ 
ing  most  noble  service.  Total  abstainers  themselves,  as  ' 
being  connected  with  an  American  mission,  they  insist  on 
total  abstinence  on  the  part  of  the  native  converts  ;  and 
wherever  the  heathen  about  them  are  capable  of  appre¬ 
ciating  social  order,  prosperity,  health  and  happiness, 
their  example  and  influence  will  have  a  profound  effect 
for  good  upon  all  the  peoples  of  the  Congo. 

Commerce 

The  influence  of  Christian  missions  in  the  development 
of  trade  is  at  the  present  time  well  understood.  Wherever 
missionaries  go  the  character  of  the  people  is  elevated, 
and  their  demands  are  increased.  As  one  missionary  says, 
“The  first  call  of  a  convert  from  heathenism  is  for  clean 
clothes  and  a  better  house.”  The  spirit  of  the  Gospel  is  a 
spirit  of  order.  The  missionary  w^ork  is  a  standing  illus¬ 
tration  of  the  truth  that  “cleanliness  is  next  to  godliness.” 
In  all  countries  where  Baptist  missionaries  have  gone, 
they  have  had  a  pronounced  and  decided  effect  in  the 
development  of  trade  with  the  natives.  The  Karens  as  a 


heathen  people  have  almost  no  wants  which  they  cannot 
themselves  supply.  They  build  their  own  houses,  make 
their  own  clothing,  and  provide  their  own  food.  The 
introduction  of  Christianity  among  the  Karens  is  an  exam¬ 
ple  of  its  effects  upon  any  people  of  a  similar  wild  and 
degraded  character.  The  Karens  are  not  deficient  in  busi¬ 
ness  enterprise,  nor  are  they  lacking  in  men  of  property 
and  wealth.  Converted  to  Christianity,  these  men  have 
demanded  better  homes ;  other  people  become  desirous  of 
the  same.  Their  clothing  becomes  more  abundant,  and  of 
a  better  character.  No  longer  are  their  simple  and  rude 
arts  able  to  supply  their  wants.  All  the  Christian  com¬ 
munities  in  Burma  are  on  the  way  to  development  to  the 
condition  of  the  Karen  Christian  communities  in  Bassein. 
This  is  a  model  and  a  standard  for  the  social  effects  of 
missionary  work.  Here  we  find  people,  formerly  wild  and 
savage,  become  a  model  of  a  prosperous,  orderly  and  enter¬ 
prising  community.  Their  churches  they  have  built  by 
their  own  means ;  their  schools  are  largely  supported  by 
themselves  ;  for  their  normal  and  industrial  Institute  they 
have  built  a  fine  and  ample  building,  called  the  Kothabyu 
Memorial  Hall,  and  this  school,  largely  maintained  by  their 
own  resources,  turns  out  every  year  teachers  and  artisans 
fitted  to  labor  for  the  development  of  their  own  people. 
They  conduct  a  lumber  business,  with  a  sawmill,  having 
all  the  improved  facilities  of  civilized  commerce.  This 
mill  is  a  public  enterprise,  and  all  its  income  is  devoted  to 
the  maintenance  of  their  school.  Here  we  find  a  brilliant 
and  impressive  illustration  of  what  Christianity  will  do  for 
the  lowest  of  peoples. 

The  whole  business  of  Burma  in  all  departments  has 
also  received  an  immense  impetus  from  the  labors  of  Bap¬ 
tist  missionaries  and  the  converts  they  have  gathered. 
Mechanical  and  agricultural  implements  are  imported  from 
America  ;  clothing  of  every  sort  is  demanded  ;  the  arts  of 
the  printing-press  are  brought  into  use;  the  improved 
houses  required  by  the  people,  as  well  as  the  schoolhouses 
and  churches  which  they  erect,  create  a  demand  for  builder^s 
hardware  and  other  materials,  and  there  is  hardly  a  line 
of  the  manufactures”of  ^civilized  lands  which  is  not  required 
to  some  extent  by  the  converts  gained  from  heathenism. 


17 


What  is  true  of  Burma  is  true,  also,  of  Assam  in  a  lesser 
degree,  and  of  the  converts  in  every  heathen  country. 
Civilization  will  not  produce  Christianity,  but  Christianity 
always  produces  civilization.  Wherever  the  missionary 
goes,  there  follows  an  increase  of,  trade.  This  is  true  in 
China,  in  Japan,  but  more  especially  of  the  Christian 
converts  starting  from  a  lower  state,  as  among  the  hill 
tribes  of  Burma,  Assam  and  the  peoples  of  Africa.  Here 
in  Africa  a  larger  commerce  will  find  its  chief  encourage¬ 
ment  from  Christian  misssions.  Secular  commerce  seeks 
its  own  aim  and  largest  profit.  It  seeks  to  obtain  the 
productions  of  Africa  at  the  lowest  cost,  and  to  pay  for 
them  as  largely  as  possible  in  alcoholic  liquors.  This 
policy  is  sure  destruction  to  every  form  of  legitimate  com¬ 
merce.  It  depopulates  the  country,  ruins  the  people, 
renders  them  drunken,  worthless,  lazy.  A  section  of 
country  treated  in  this  way  soon  ceases  to  yield  any  possi¬ 
ble  profit  to  those  who  have  introduced  the  means  of 
destruction.  Even  the  governments  of  large  portions  of 
Africa  are  now  finding  it  necessary  to  prohibit  the  impor¬ 
tation  of  alcohol  in  the  interests  of  commerce  alone.  Only 
vigorous,  healthful,  enterprising  peoples  can  be  of  assist¬ 
ance  in  the  development  of  the  commerce  of  Africa.  If 
rum  goes  in  trade  goes  out.  In  the  development  of  a 
larger  trade  in  the  Congo  Valley  the  Baptist  missionaries 
are  rendering  and  will  render  most  judicious  and  helpful 
service,  and  their  contributions  towards  commerce  in  the 
highest  and  best  sense  are  larger  than  can  be  estimated  in 
figures. 

One  striking  illustration  of  the  services  of  missions  to 
commerce  may  be  mentioned  :  Rev.  Jonathan  Goble  was  • 
the  first  Baptist  missionary  to  Japan.  He  first  went  there 
as  a  seaman  in  Commodore  Perry’s  expedition  .Afterwards 
'  he  returned  as  a  missionary.  While  there  he  was  specially 
interested  in  the  distribution  of  the  Bible.  At  that  time 
there  were  no  wheel  carriages  in  Japan.  Needing  a  con¬ 
veyance  for  his  supply  of  Scriptures,  he  imported  a  pair  of 
American  wheels,  and,  making  a  little  cart,  he  hired  men 
to  drag  it  about  the  country  with  his  stock  of  Scriptures. 
Seeing  this,  some  proprietors  of  a  pleasure  park  in  Tokyo 
asked  him  to  plan  for  them  a  special  carriage,  which  might 


i8 


be  used  for  their  customers.  He  sketched  the  outline  of 
a  sort  of  enlarged  baby-carriage,  which  was  adopted  and 
used  by  them,  and  drawn  by  man  power.  The. advantage 
of  the  little  cart  was  at  once  seen.  The  idea  was  quickly 
caught  by  the  enterprising  Japanese,  and  to-day  the  jinri- 
kisha^  or  “man-power  carriage,”  called  also  kuruma  by  the 
Japanese,  is  in  general  use  in  Japan.  This  is  the  origin 
of  the  jinrikisha^  which  now  is  not  only  universally  used 
in  Japan,  and  ^  from  which  the  Japanese  Government 
derives  an  income  of  many  thousands  of  dollars  in 
license  fees,  but  its  use  has  extended  over  into  the 
coast  cities  of  China,  and  all  the  way  round  to  Singa¬ 
pore  and  India.  Mr.  Goble’s  claim  has  been  brought 
before  the  Japanese  Government  and  is  denied  by  them, 
but  no  other  understandable  explanation  of  the  inven¬ 
tion  of  the  jinrikisha  has  ever  been  offered.  Until  such, 
the  credit  may  well  be  given  to  Mr.  Goble,  the  first  Baptist 
missionary  to  Japan. 


